For Bryan Bullington and the Pirates, the fun part of the baseball draft ended yesterday. Now the games begin.
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Bryan Bullington, the first selection in the draft yesterday, is projected as a No. 3 starter by General Manager Dave Littlefield. (John Severson, The Indianapolis Star via Associated Press) |
It wasn't huge news that the Pirates made the junior right-hander from Ball State University the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 draft. That had been the strong rumor for at least a couple of weeks.
The real news will come when the Pirates sign Bullington. Which could be next week, next month or August.
Whenever, it's a decent bet that Bullington won't do a lot of pitching in the Pirates' organization this summer.
That's because the Pirates and Casey Close, Bullington's adviser, must "do the dance" of getting a deal done.
It was reported on Baseball America's Web site that Bullington's side had asked for a $6 million signing bonus. That would be perhaps $2 million more than the Pirates would like to spend.
"To be real frank, we don't comment on any discussions between the Pirates and the Bullington family," Close said.
Nor does Pirates Dave Littlefield.
"I wouldn't feel comfortable discussing that," Littlefield said.
But Littlefield seems confident the Pirates will sign a pitcher they can't afford not to sign.
"Confident enough to pick him in the first round with the first pick," Littlefield said.
It's conceivable the first negotiating skirmish included that $6 million figure. High school catcher Joe Mauer, the top pick overall last year, received a record $5.15 million signing bonus from the Minnesota Twins.
Advisers and agents like to try to get what's called "the percentage upgrade" for their clients each year. That's usually 20 percent. And a 20 percent improvement over Mauer's deal would be in the $6 million range.
There's no way the Pirates will go that high. And there were indications yesterday that Bullington's side had come off the $6 million figure.
The Pirates, who project Bullington as a No. 3 starter in the major leagues, have leverage on their side.
By all evaluations, this draft pool wasn't very strong. Next year's crop will be stronger. And there's a possibility of a worldwide draft being implemented by baseball by next June which would strengthen the draft even more.
That's what weakens Bullington's case. It's quite likely that if he returns to Ball State for his senior season, he won't be the top pick overall again next June. Hence, he likely won't have another chance at a signing bonus of perhaps a little more than $4 million.
Sensing that, the Pirates can afford to let Bullington stew this summer. Also sensing that, it's likely Close and Bullington eventually will agree with the Pirates.
"Obviously, the Pirates control a lot of the cards," Close said. "But whether this [signing] is slow or fast, I really couldn't say. I think there's an understanding of the parameters by both sides, and we've had nothing but positive discussions and dialogue."
The Pirates chose Bullington, 6 feet 5, 225 pounds, over highly touted high school shortstop B.J. Upton from Chesapeake, Va., who went to Tampa Bay with the second pick, and high school left-hander Adam Loewen from Surrey, British Columbia, who went to Baltimore with the fourth.
As a high school position player, as talented as Upton is, he could be five years away from reaching the majors. The Pirates don't want to wait that long.
In Bullington, who will turn 22 Sept. 30, the Pirates have a pick who has had three years of college competition.
"He's a little closer [to the big leagues] than a high school draftee," Littlefield said. "He still has some work to do with the consistency of his delivery that reflects the quality of his pitches, but that's not uncommon with college pitchers and his age.
"We're talking about a guy here who's accomplished a lot in college and improved dramatically each year. He's a determined guy, a smart guy. As much as anything, he's an achiever. And we think he can achieve here, too. He's probably a couple years away."
Rich Maloney, the former Ball State coach who accepted the same position at the University of Michigan Friday, believes Bullington could pitch for the Pirates sooner than in two years.
"I don't want to put unfair billing on him, but I think it's all there for him to be a star," said Maloney, who also had Ball State left-hander Luke Hagerty taken with the 32nd overall pick by the Chicago Cubs yesterday. "And I think the Pirate fans will love him."
Maloney compares Bullington to Mark Prior, taken by the Cubs with the second overall pick last June and who already has reached the major leagues, and Curt Schilling, the Arizona workhorse.
"I feel like Bryan can pitch at that level," Maloney said.
Bullington attended Ball State after being picked by Kansas City in the 37th round in the 1999 draft. He has a three-year college record of 29-11 with a 3.36 earned run average over 46 games. He's struck out 357 and walked only 63 in 297 1/3 innings.
This season, he was named the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 11-3 with a 2.84 ERA. He struck out 139 in 104 2/3 innings, and his strikeouts-per-nine innings ratio of 12.1 ranked fourth in Division I.
"He's a big, strong, durable right-handed pitcher with a power arm," said Ed Creech, the Pirates' scouting director. "He has a variety of pitches which will allow him to be a solid major-league pitcher."
Bullington's fastball has been clocked as high as 96 mph. He also has "an electric slider," according to Littlefield, a curveball and a changeup, which he didn't use much in college.
Bullington, who grew up in Madison, Ind., near Louisville, is the second consecutive Mid-American Conference player to be the Pirates' first-round draft pick. Last year, using the eighth pick overall, they chose John VanBenschoten from Kent State and surprised many people by announcing they'd make the power hitter a pitcher.
If Bullington does sign within a month, say, he could spend the final month of this season with Class A Hickory. If Bullington doesn't sign until August, he'll be in the Instructional League in Bradenton, Fla., this fall.
With their second pick yesterday, the Pirates took another right-handed pitcher, Blair Johnson from Washburn Rural High School near Topeka, Kan. Johnson, 6-4, 195, who has a hard sinking fastball, has signed a national letter-of-intent to play baseball at Nebraska.
The Pirates took Travis Lee's brother, Taber, with their third pick. Taber Lee is a switch-hitting shortstop from San Diego State.
The Pirates also took pitchers with their fourth and fifth picks -- right-hander Wardell Starling from Missouri City, Texas, and right-hander Alex Hart from the University of Florida and Chambersburg, Pa.
With their 12th pick, the Pirates grabbed Moon left-hander Brian Holliday.
The draft resumes today at noon and should be finished by early evening after a total of 50 rounds.
Draft: Getting pitcher under contract no simple task 
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